Slovakia
Slovakia performs in the high range with regard to two categories of the Global State of Democracy framework: Representation and Rights, and it exhibits mid-range performance in Rule of Law and Participation. It is among the world’s top 25 per cent of performers in all factors of performance except Freedom of Religion, Gender Equality, Civic Engagement and Electoral Participation. Over the past five years, Slovakia has not shown any significant declines, but has advanced in Effective Parliament, particularly in terms of legislative constraints on the executive.
Following Slovakia’s transition from a centrally planned to market-oriented economy in the 1990s, it grew into a high-income country. It has one of the lowest levels of income inequality among OECD countries, but the western and eastern regions of the country vary considerably in terms of GDP per capita.
Slovakia came into being in 1992, the result of a peaceful separation between Slovakia and Czechia, known as the Velvet Divorce. This separation was the result of the rise of nationalist ideas, the lack of a uniform Czechoslovak identity, and the gradual decentralization of political power. Today, Slovakian politics show a high degree of political party volatility, with frequent merging and splintering. The emergence of new parties is not uncommon, especially to challenge dominant parties associated with corruption. Slovakia’s international orientation is another central issue. In the past five years, polarization has increased between pro-European liberal parties and nationalist-populist parties, with support to Ukraine as a key political fault line.
Today, the two largest minority groups are Hungarians and the Roma, whose populations often face discrimination, social exclusion, and lack of access to housing and jobs. In 2022, the Council of Europe urged Slovakia to improve access to education for Roma children and counteract over-representation of Roma children in special classes and schools for pupils with disabilities. Recent reports document the use of Beneš Decrees, a WWII remnant that allows the state to confiscate land belonging to ethnic Hungarians without compensation. Additionally, Slovakia has experienced rising anti-immigration rhetoric, especially following the 2015 migration crisis, and has been criticized for its immigrant detention practices.
In terms of gender equality, women are under-represented in economic, social and political decision-making, hampered by traditional gender stereotypes. Women’s equal and full political participation is also challenged by attacks and criticisms during the election period. Gender-based violence remains prevalent, particularly impacting women in marginalized Roma communities. There have also been intensifying threats against the LGTBQIA+ community, including a terrorist attack at an LGBTQIA+ bar in October 2022. Finally, Slovakia faces challenges with press freedom, intimidation and shrinking civic space. The assassination of Ján Kuciak, an investigative journalist who reported on corruption and organized crime, led to the ousting of Prime Minister Robert Fico in 2018.
Going forward, Rule of Law and Absence of Corruption should be watched closely, particularly since recent policies threaten to stymie investigations of high-level corruption cases. In addition, the Social Group Equality metric should be watched, especially in terms of LGBTQIA+ communities’, minorities’ and migrant communities’ rights. Finally, it will be important to safeguard civic space in view of signs of new constraints, including proposals to restrict NGO access to funding from abroad and the Culture Ministry’s decision not to continue funding to LGBTQIA+ organizations.
Monthly Event Reports
March 2024 | Special Prosecutor's Office is closed after penal code reform
The Special Prosecutor’s Office in Slovakia, which oversees cases of high-level corruption, closed on 20 March following reforms to the penal code. The decision was part of reforms, proposed by the government and approved by parliament on 8 February, aimed at providing stronger protection against prosecution for judges, lowering penalties for corruption and fraud, and abolishing the Special Prosecutor’s Office. The reforms were strongly criticized and the European Parliament expressed concerns that they would threaten the integrity of judicial processes. On 28 February, the Slovak Constitutional Court halted several parts of the reform such as prosecution protection and reduced penalties, but the abolishment of the Special Prosecutor’s Office went ahead. The other reforms that were planned to take effect on 15 March are now paused, pending further deliberation.
December 2023 | Government tables amendments to deny police whistleblower protections
The government approved amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act which would remove whistleblower protections extended to police and enable the Attorney General to nullify court decisions granting whistleblower status. In addition, the proposed legislative changes would allow the whistleblower’s employer to appeal against the status. As a next step, the amendments will be put to a vote in Parliament. The new government, led by Robert Fico of the Smer-SD party, has suspended six police investigators at the National Crime Agency (NAKA), responsible for probing organized crime under previous Smer-SD governments. These investigators were given whistleblower status in October 2023 by the Special Prosecutor’s Office for a period of three years. The Interior Minister, Matúš Šutaj Eštok has claimed that the whistleblower status was granted illegally. In November, Eštok survived a no-confidence vote initiated by members of the opposition.
September 2023 | Pro-Russian Robert Fico wins snap elections
The populist left-wing Smer party led by former Prime Minister Robert Fico won early parliamentary elections, held on 30 September. Smer won 22.94 per cent of the vote and 42 of the 150 seats in the country’s unicameral Parliament. A total of seven parties will be represented in Parliament. Progressive Slovakia (PS) came in second place with 17.96 per cent of the vote and 32 seats, winning 61.7 per cent of the record-high overseas vote. The centre-left Hlas party, an offshoot from the Smer party, placed third with 27 seats, followed by the OL’aNO party with 16 seats. The Christian Democrat party and nationalist SNS party also returned to Parliament. Voter turnout was 68.42 per cent. The elected MPs comprise 33 women (22 per cent) and 117 men (78 per cent).
August 2023 | Police apprehend intelligence heads accused of obstructing corruption investigations
Police arrested multiple high-ranking officials in the intelligence services on charges of organised crime, abuse of power and obstruction of justice. The directors of the Slovak Information Service and the National Security Authority are among seven people facing charges for alleged interference with the investigation of high-level corruption cases involving government officials. The officials arrested included Tibor Gašpar, who is a candidate in Robert Fico's Smer party in the upcoming elections and served as chief of police under Fico’s regime from 2012-2018. Fico has claimed the arrests represent a police coup, calling the moves political calculations to weaken his party, currently leading in the polls, in the approach to the elections scheduled for 30 September. President Zuzana Čaputová convened the Security Council for an emergency meeting, where she underscored that no coup had been executed by the police, and that Slovak security agencies continued to be operational.
Explore past monthly event reports
GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022
Basic Information
Human Rights Treaties
State party
Signatory
No action
Global State of Democracy Indices
Hover over the trend lines to see the exact data points across the years
Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time
Use the slider below to see how democratic performance has changed over time
